On
May 2, Obama named Froman his new US trade representative.
He's a former Harvard law school classmate. He's currently a key
adviser. More on him below.

He replaces
Ron Kirk. He served from March 2009 - March 2013. He's joining Gibson
Dunn. It's a prominent US law firm. It advises global clients. It's
ranked among the top 20 doing it. It's prominent attorneys and alumni
include Theodore Olson and Ken Starr.

Kirk said he wants to stay "engaged in global
commerce." He wants the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement
completed by yearend. It's a trade deal from hell.

It's being
secretly negotiated. Most people never heard of it. Media scoundrels
ignore it. Whatever corporations want they support.

According
to Wallach, TPP's "a stealthy delivery mechanism for policies that
could not survive public scrutiny."

It provides
Trojan horse cover for "grandiose new rights and privileges for
corporations and permanent constraints on government regulation."

It favors
investors at the expense of public health, food safety, clean air and
water, sovereign control of resources, land use, energy, and virtually
everything else that smells money, power and privileges afforded both.

"The
stakes are extremely high because TPP may well be the last 'trade' agreement
Washington negotiates." If enacted, other countries can join. If
enough do, it'll be a global "NAFTA on steroids."

Member countries
will sacrifice national sovereignty. Their laws, regulations and rights
will be subordinated to TPP rules. Their use of tax revenues will also
be restricted.

Rule-breakers
face TPP tribunal lawsuits and sanctions. Corporations will be empowered
to sue countries outside their domestic courts. Private sector attorneys
will become judges and juries.

TPP is unfair
trade by any standard. Trade is its least important feature. Washington
has plenty of deals with other countries. TPP reflects raw, unchallenged,
supranational corporate power.

Kirk was Obama's
point man to advance it. He represents entrenched power at its worst.
Froman will pick up where he left off.

He served
on Obama's campaign transition team. He's been Deputy Assistant to the
President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Economic Affairs.
He was responsible for coordinating policies on international trade,
investment, energy, climate and development issues.

He was White
House liaison to the G7, G8, G20, and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)
summits. He heads the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. He
co-chairs Washington's Transatlantic Economic Council. He's CEO of the
US-India and US-Brazil Forums.

He helped
negotiate South Korea, Colombia and Panama trade deals. Like NAFTA and
other bilateral deals, they cost America tens of thousands of jobs.
Expect more of the same ahead.

Under Clinton,
Froman was Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's chief of staff. He also
served as deputy assistant Eurasia and Middle East secretary. His responsibilities
included post-Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe economic policies.

He was involved
in implementing economic components of the Dayton Accords. Washington
and key European allies partitioned and colonized Bosnia. A sovereign
country was destroyed.

Former Swedish
prime minister Carl Bildt was appointed High Representative. He was
given "final authority in theater regarding interpretation of the
agreements."

From 1999
- 2009, Froman was Citigroup Management Corp. managing director. He
managed infrastructure and sustainable development investments. He was
CitiInsurance president and CEO. He headed the bank's Emerging Markets
Strategy.

He's a Council
on Foreign Relations senior fellow and German Marshall Fund of the United
States resident fellow.

He was the
American Bar Association's Central and East Europe liaison. He's been
a member of the European Commission's Forward Studies Unit.

As US Trade
Representative (USTR), he'll continue working on TPP and ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement). It threatens Net Neutrality and free expression.

He'll also
begin negotiating the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA). On
February 13, Obama, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, and
European Commission head Jose Manuel Barros announced its official launch.

It's also
called the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It's
not new. Trans-Atlantic free trade was discussed earlier. Informal discussions
went no further.

America and
EU nations partnered in global agreements. They never before finalized
one with each other. BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa,
and China) are excluded.

They're some
of the world's fastest growing economies. Their combined GDP matches
America and EU nations. Both blocks may vie for economic and political
supremacy.

According
to EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, at stake is "the weight
of the western, free world in world economic and political affairs."

According to a joint US/EU announcement, negotiations will focus mainly
on "regulatory and other non-tariff barriers." Expect secrecy
to prevent public disclosure. Otherwise unpopular terms won't likely
survive.